


Just Another Coffee Shop AU

by all_things_geekie



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 04:57:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12833775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_things_geekie/pseuds/all_things_geekie
Summary: Michael works at a coffee shop and hates working the morning shifts, but one customer might change his mind.





	Just Another Coffee Shop AU

**Author's Note:**

> Quick disclaimer that this is one of the first stories I've written in 3+ years, so its pretty crusty, but hey, I tried.

The opening shift is always difficult, which is exactly the reason why Michael always tries his hardest to avoid it. If he ever sees that he’s scheduled to open the coffee shop, he calls up Christine and begs for her to switch. Of course, she almost always accepts due to her miraculous ability to be perpetually happy and optimistic, even at the ass-crack of dawn.

Michael working the opening shift just doesn’t work. The customers don’t want to be up at 5:30 in the morning, whether they’re in a rush to get to work or classes. And Michael doesn’t want to be at work at 5:30 in the morning having to deal with tired, rude, customers that throw a fit if he accidentally puts an inch and a half of foam on their latte when they only asked for an inch. Yeah. Michael and mornings. They don’t mix well.

So imagine Michael’s overwhelming joy when he got scheduled for the opening shift on a Friday, a Friday and Christine couldn’t cover for him because she had rehearsal for a musical that she needed to be well-rested for. Not that Michael was holding it against her or anything, but still. Fridays bring in the more difficult customers who almost all have orders made up of 10 different ingredients that need to be combined in a precise order, or else the apocalypse will start, or something just as stupid.

But, Michael was managing to make it through the first half hour of his shift with no major incidents, and he’s finally starting to get into the flow of things. Greet the customer with a smile. Take their order and repeat it back to them to confirm that yes, that’s what they want.

“Cash or Credit?”

“What’s your name? Is that with an ‘A’ or an ‘E’? Okay, great.”

Keep on smiling. Line up the cups on the counter so Brooke can make the drinks, and repeat. The motions of taking orders is so ingrained into him that he barely needs to focus and can let his mind wander.

Around 6:00, a man in a neatly pressed suit comes into the shop talking on his phone. Whoever is on the phone is making him visibly upset, his conversation getting loud enough that the entire shop can hear what he’s saying. The man is so involved in his conversation that he doesn’t notice when he’s at the front of the line.

“Hi, what can I get you this morning?” Michael says faux-cheerfully. The man glares at Michael and goes back to his phone conversation. Taking a deep breath, Michael tries again. “Sir, what would you like to drink?” This time he gets a finger held up to his face and a glare. Whatever. It’s cool. Keep on smiling.

Michael waits a few more seconds, and just as he’s about to ask for his order again, the person standing in line behind the businessman does it for him.

“Sir, there are people in line behind you, and while the barista can’t say it, I can. Get off of your phone, and order your drink so we can all get where we need to go that much faster.” The businessman shoots a glare behind him before saying a rushed apology into his phone, mumbling about a “rude man” and “horrible service”. He finally turns to Michael and rushes out his order, some ridiculously complicated soy latte that’s going to take ages to make. Michael gets the man’s name - Joe, and sends him to wait at the end of the counter for his drink. Michael turns to the next customer with a genuine smile on his face, excited to see who had the balls to stand up to a stranger like that.

“Thanks for that, what you did,” he gestures towards Joe with his sharpie. The possibilities of what Michael can say next are endless: “it made my day”, “I have to deal with people like him all the time and I can’t say anything to them”, “you’re really cute, can I get your number?” But of course, he ends up blurting out “it was…good.”

The guy honest to god giggles. “It was good? Well, I mean, there’s my act of kindness sorted for the day, I guess.” Michael chuckles and takes a moment to observe the guy. He seems to be about Michael’s age, probably going off to an early morning class. He’s looking down at his hands which are fidgeting with his wallet, he must be nervous. A part of Michael wants to reach across the counter and place his hand over the guy’s to stop his fiddling hands. Michael ignores that part. Could that be counted as harassment? Probably not. Still, not a good idea.

Oh, right. Hands. Wallet. Coffee. Job.

“So, what can I get for you today?” he asks. The guy looks up from his wallet and meets Michael’s eyes.

“Oh, I’ll just have a coffee please. Black.”

“What’s your name?” Michael asks.

“Jeremy. My name’s Jeremy,” the guy, Jeremy, stutters out.

“Awesome,” Michael says, uncapping his marker with his teeth and scribbling onto the cup and drawing a little smiley face before setting on the counter for Brooke to make.

Jeremy shuffles from foot to foot, not seeming to know what to do with himself before deciding to walk over to the end of the counter and busy himself with reading the papers on the bulletin board.

Michael leaves Brooke to man the register and goes over to the counter to call out people’s orders. The first cup there was Jeremy’s because it was the simplest to make.

“Black coffee for Jeremy,” Michael calls out. Jeremy’s head whips up to meet his eyes, and starts to make his way over to grab his drink when the man from earlier, Joe, shoves his way in front to grab the drink.

“Sir, that’s not your drink-” Michael starts to say at the same time that Jeremy says, “I think that’s mine-” Joe just rolls his eyes and snatches the coffee out of Michael’s hand before turning to Jeremy with a scowl.

“I’ve been waiting long enough, you can just grab the next one.” he says before turning and speed-walking towards the door.

Michael tries to call out to him. “Sir, you can’t just do that! Sir, that’s not your coffee!” But he’s already out the door. Michael stares at his retreating figure, still trying to process what just happened. He looks over to Jeremy who is wearing a matching expression of confusion. Michael isn’t quite sure what to do. A lot of weird things have happened to him while he’s been working here as a barista.

There had been lobsters in toilets (a teenager’s dad worked at grocery store and thought it’d be hilarious if he stole a one and put it in a toilet for someone to find), customers trying to pick fights with him, and a very memorable lady who’d run her finger through his latte art to make sure the foam was the “right consistency”. But Michael’s never had someone steal another guy’s coffee.

What was the protocol for this? Could he laugh? Would that be insensitive? Michael waits for Jeremy to make the first move, give him an idea of what his reaction should be. And then, against all odds, Jeremy throws his head back and laughs, and dear god if Michael won’t say anything to hear that laugh again. Let the next dozen customers take Jeremy’s coffee if it means that he’ll laugh like that.

“Oh my god,” Jeremy says in between bursts of laughter.

“What?” Michael chuckles, not quite sure what’s happening.

“He-He just, swooped in and took my coffee,” more laughter. “I mean, screw him for that, honestly, but if that wasn’t one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.” Michael starts to laugh along, because it’s not often that you see something that leaves you speechless, especially when you’ve been working with cranky people needing their coffee fix as much as Michael has.

“I’ll get you a new cup of coffee, 'kay Jeremy?” Michael says before turning to make the cup of coffee. As he’s pouring Jeremy’s drink, he risks as glance at him, only to meet Jeremy’s eyes before they both look away blushing.

Michael turns back to Jeremy, new coffee in hand. Jeremy reaches out to grab it before, Michaels yanks it away. “Wait I almost forgot!” Michael grabs a sharpie out of Brooke’s hand and quickly re-draws a smiley face on the cup before handing it to Jeremy.  
“Have a nice day Jeremy.” he says with a smile that’s not so fake anymore. Jeremy looks down at the cup and a blush starts creeping down his face, he nods and turns towards the door before deciding against it and looking back at Michael.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” He asks hopefully. Before he can think better of it, Michael says that he will. Jeremy nods, satisfied, and turns back to the door, actually leaving this time.

Shit. Why’d he say that? He isn’t working tomorrow, he never works the morning shifts. Michael takes out his phone under the counter and types out a text.

To: Christine

can I take your morning shift tomorrow?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this, it depends on whether or not Im able to motivate myself to write.  
> You can find me on tumblr at all-things-geekie I dont post much writing but I have a ton of AUs


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